Canada's main equity benchmark closed in negative territory on Thursday as losses concentrated in Energy, Industrials and Materials pushed the S&P/TSX Composite down 0.37% by the close in Toronto.
Among individual performers, B2Gold Corp (TSX:BTO) led gains, finishing up 11.00% - a rise of 0.67 points - to close at 6.76. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX:MFI) climbed 10.06%, adding 2.83 points to reach 30.96 at the end of trading. Kinaxis Inc (TSX:KXS) also recorded a strong advance, gaining 9.52% - or 13.29 points - to finish at 152.96.
On the downside, Nutrien Ltd (TSX:NTR) was the session's weakest large-cap, falling 7.46% - down 7.52 points - to close at 93.29. Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS) declined 7.04%, losing 39.74 points to end at 524.62. Element Fleet Management Corp (TSX:EFN) dropped 6.68%, down 2.07 points to 28.90.
Decliners outpaced advancers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with 505 issues lower against 454 higher; 70 stocks finished unchanged. Notably, shares of Element Fleet Management Corp (TSX:EFN) moved to 52-week lows, falling 6.68% or 2.07 to 28.90.
Volatility as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX eased, with the index down 0.67% to 16.21.
Commodities saw mixed direction: Gold Futures for June delivery were higher, up 0.61% or 28.46 to $4,722.76 a troy ounce. Crude oil futures for June delivery rose 1.06% or 1.01 to hit $96.09 a barrel, while the July Brent contract inched up 0.04% or 0.04 to trade at $101.31 a barrel.
Currency moves were small. CAD/USD was unchanged, at 0.73, (0.15%), while CAD/EUR was unchanged at 0.62 (0.04%). The US Dollar Index Futures rose 0.20% to 98.07.
Market participants navigating multi-sector exposure saw the day's action dominated by weakness in resource and industrial names, offset in part by outsized moves in a handful of mining and technology-related stocks. Overall breadth and the movement in volatility highlighted a market with more falling issues than advancing ones at the close.